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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Wow.

No clever title here. I'm just honestly stunned by the fact that Urban Meyer, the head football coach at the University of Florida has chosen to step down for health reasons. You may remember back over the summer I wrote about how monumental Bill Tierney's departure from Princeton was, but this... wow.

I first must express a sincere concern for Coach Meyer, his family, and his health. Here's hoping that whatever the health issue may be, it is resolved quickly. I wish for him whatever he may desire for his future to hold, whether that be a return to coaching or more time spent with love ones, but most of all I hope that he is healthy.

That said, I can't not mention the immense sports implications here. My very first thought is that it means next year, the Gators will be without Meyer AND Tebow. The loss of Tebow was already threatening to be huge, but Meyer is arguably an even bigger loss. The tandem could be devastating. Naturally, my mind also turned to September 11, 2010, when the Bulls make their first appearance in the Swamp. I will say I'm happy they'll be going through this transition, though certainly not for these reasons.

Another thought that could conceivably be very telling about how rapid the onset of this decision was is one of the other largest questions: Who's next? I would imagine that if this weren't a decision made a very short time ago, Florida's own Charlie Strong, now the head coach at Louisville, would have surely been in the running. So who will be the next head man down at UF? It's certainly a destination job, perhaps moreso than Notre Dame at this point. I know it will be followed very closely by many, including myself, over the days to come.